EHV-1 Breaks Out In New Jersey

Two New Jersey Horse farms, one in Gladstone and one in Pompton Plains, are under quarantine after a horse at the Gladstone farm tested positive for the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus-1.

The infected horse attended a horse show in Newburgh, N.Y., on Jan. 12. After he tested positive, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture traced his movements and found 11 horses in New Jersey had been exposed. None of the other horses have shown signs of the disease.

“The department has taken immediate preventive measures to stop the virus from spreading,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “It is essential that we use quarantines and trace back in equine herpes cases since the disease is easily transmitted, causing many horses to become sick or die.”

The infected horse is currently recovering and receiving treatment at a veterinary quarantine facility in Oldwick, N.J.

No horses in New York have tested positive for the virus in relation to this incident so far. Two horses in Connecticut are currently quarantined, but have shown no signs of infection. Horses from Pennsylvania may also have been exposed, but as of Jan. 25 there has been no announcement that horses from that state have tested positive.